Small Points of Light

"Small Points of Light" takes its name from Roxane Gay's interview with The Association of Writers & Writing Programs. The interview deals largely with questions of literary citizenship — what it is, why it's important, and how to achieve it. Here our Editor at Large, Robin Gow will explore these and other questions while visiting various readings, workshops, panels, and literary events in the greater NYC area, and elsewhere.

There’s a story you guys might have heard about this little boy who was reading stories, and he loved books about lions. He started to notice a pattern in his reading, and he goes to his mom, and he says, “Mom, the lion is the king of the jungle, so why is it in all these books that the man always wins?” And she says, “Because lions don’t write books.”

You know you’re in the presence of duende when you see a dancer just going in. They’ve transcended something. They’re no longer doing choreographed steps—something else has taken over. Or a singer, where beyond the words, they’re doing these runs and they’re in that moment--they’re screaming, they’re howling, and you feel it in your bones. You need an exact present; you need a body to interpret it, which to me says something also, about pathos. I’m not sure whether it’s sympathy or empathy, but this idea of identifying with this other…
There’s something human that’s happened. But now, for the writers—where does that leave us?